The Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed proclaimed that the Christian Church is “one, holy, catholic and apostolic”. Since then, these are known as the four signs of the Church. To understand what these signs denote, we must know what the Nicene Creed is and its importance in the Church.
The early Church remained small and was persecuted to the beginning of the 4 century. In AD 312 Constantine I, the Western Roman Emperor proclaimed his conversion to Christianity. In AD 313, Constantine, jointly with Licinius of the Eastern Roman Empire made a proclamation of religious toleration for Christianity within the whole Empire. The proclamation is known as the Edict of Milan. Constantine made the declaration in February 313 and Licinius in June of the same year. But later doubting that Licinius failed purposely in executing the declaration, Constantine attacked the Eastern Empire and attached it to the Western empire. Thus the Roman Empire once again become one.